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“Daddy Don’t Go” chronicles
the lives of four disadvantaged men in New York City as they fight to defy the
odds against them. Alex, Nelson, Roy and Omar shatter the deadbeat dad
stereotype and redefine what it means to be a good father for all men.

About

DADDY DON'T GO

$83,388

pledged of $80,000 goal

603

backers

A THANK YOU FROM OMAR AND ROY

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Our Story

Daddy Don’t Go is a feature length documentary that captures a year in the lives of four young men in New York City as they struggle against poverty to reach their full potential as fathers. The film poses urgent questions that expand the ongoing national dialogue concerning fatherhood. Can a man be a good dad in spite of not being a great provider? How does being a father shift a man’s identity? In true vérité style, Daddy Don’t Go will capture the crucial, intimate father-child relationship over time and without censorship. Alex, Nelson, Omar and Roy shatter the deadbeat dad stereotype, redefining what it means to be a good father for all men.

Our Dads

Alex, 26, is a single father who lives with his toddler son in a Harlem shelter. Alex fought to keep his child out of the foster care system but now faces a new challenge to his family's well-being: possible jail time.

Nelson, 26, is a Latin King and full time father to his toddler son and two girls from his partner’s previous relationships. Money issues threaten the family’s stability but Nelson and his partner persevere with grace and humor.

Roy, 28, is an ex-offender who finds a second chance in his son’s loving arms. When a construction accident leaves him permanently disabled, Roy must move in with his parents and find a new way to support his family.

Omar, 36, is a single father who rescued his children from their abusive mother but now fights in court to maintain custody of his three troubled kids.

Political Context

Today, one out of every three children in America – over 24 million in total – lives in a home without their biological father present. When Obama launched the President’s Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative, he reflected that, “it’s time for a new conversation about fatherhood in this country.”

Across the political spectrum, absentee fathers are denounced as a leading social problem of today. Children who grow up without active fathers are more likely to live in poverty, do poorly in school, run afoul of the criminal justice system and become teenage parents. This is particularly true for New York City’s African American and Latino children where 54% and 43%, respectively, grow up in fatherless households.

Policy makers and activists across the country are looking for ways to reduce fatherlessness. Daddy Don’t Go will be a lightning rod for this much-needed conversation.

Access

Daddy Don’t Go is a collaborative effort between subject and filmmaker. The fathers and their children have fully embraced the filmmaking process, allowing unhindered access to their most intimate moments, even while in crisis. We are also filming many of the lawyers, social workers and counselors in our fathers’ lives to capture each story from all sides. After months of work by our stellar pro-bono attorneys, our production has gained rare access to film proceedings within the Bronx Family Court and Bronx Criminal Court. We feel deeply grateful towards our subjects and the court officials who have permitted us to film in these significant settings.

Reviews of Abt's previous films

Our promise

Every dollar that is given to us will go directly towards completing the film. We have supported our film independently for the past year and a half but now we need outside support or we will have to halt production. Your Kickstarter dollars will go towards ongoing shooting costs (equipment rental, transportation costs, production insurance, etc) and our edit which is already underway.

With your backing, you will not only be making a vital contribution to the completion of our film, you will also be making a powerful statement that films like ours are wanted and needed. As a backer, you will have first-look access to our project as we near the finish line - and of course, the opportunity to see the film first, before it is released. Below are snapshots of a few of our cool rewards.

DADDY DON'T GO Postcards

Pureland Rewind Reward

DADDY DON'T GO Art Book

How Kickstarter works

Kickstarter is a new way to fund creative ideas and ambitious endeavors. Kickstarter is powered by a unique all-or-nothing funding method where projects must be fully-funded or no money changes hands. In other words, if we don’t raise our goal of $80,000, we lose everything. Once we have reached our goal we will contact you to get your address so we can send you your reward (s).

How to pledge

Just click the green “Back This Project” button in the upper right-hand corner. You will be asked to input your pledge amount and select a reward. From there, you will go through the Amazon checkout process. You must finish the Amazon checkout process for your pledge to be recorded.

What if we don't reach our goal?

If funding fails, all pledges are canceled and that's that. Your card is not charged, it’s like nothing ever happened. We hope this doesn’t happen! Those 30 days will fly by so please donate today!

Can we exceed our goal?

Yes, and we'd love to!

Can you donate in another person's name?

Of course! We will contact you once funding is complete to gather information so that we can get your incentives to you. Just let us know then the name you would like to donate under.

Can you donate outside of the US?

Yes and Yes! Just click on the Amazon Payment Button and you will see that you can pay with a credit card from any country. But you must finish the Amazon checkout process for your pledge to be recorded. If you have any problems just contact us.

Want to help but can't donate?

Become an Outreach Partner. Spread the word about the film in your community and receive a special Outreach Partner credit on our website. We’d love to discuss partnering with you, your organization, your community to help get the word out about the film. Please contact us and we’ll get the collaborative juices flowing!

And of course we need your help broadcasting the Kickstarter campaign. Facebook it. Tweet it. Sing it from the mountain tops.

Risks and challenges

No one who makes an independent film is unaware of the risks and challenges. Everyone who has finished an independent film has learned to overcome them. Here are the main things that keep us up at night:

FINISHING - Will we be able to fund the project? Will we ever finish? This is where you come in. With your help, we can do it!

GETTING FOLKS TO SEE IT - How can we make sure our film reaches our target audience, especially dads who are in need of inspiration and are at risk of leaving? We have a plan for low-cost, wide distribution but we can’t do it alone. Anything you can do to help us spread the word about our film is greatly appreciated.

IMPACT - The ultimate challenge is to make a film that raises awareness, starts a conversation and has measurable impact. We are constantly reaching out to others in the father friendly community who share our commitment to this issue. We want our film to be a powerful resource for advocates and change-makers dedicated to promoting fatherhood so if that describes you, please reach out!

IN CONCLUSION - After working together for almost 2 years on DADDY DON'T GO, we’ve faced and overcome challenges again and again. We will never give up on our film but we do need your support to get us over the finish line. Thank you!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $10 or more
About $10

CHECK YOUR MAIL. Receive a postcard with a personal, hand-written thank you from our Directors. You’ll also get the DADDY DON’T GO e-newsletter every month to keep you connected and a shout-out on Facebook and Twitter.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $50 or more
About $50

YOUR NAME HERE PACKAGE. Get all of the $25 rewards plus a gorgeous hi-res photo of one of our dads. You'll also receive a thank you credit on the film’s IMDB page and credits along with exclusive updates.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $75 or more
About $75

IT’S ALL YOURS. Get everything in the YOUR NAME HERE PACKAGE plus 3 gorgeous hi-res photos straight from the set. We'll also send you an exclusive limited edition of the DADDY DON’T GO DVD before anyone else.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

PURELAND REWIND. Get the entire award-winning Pureland film catalogue on DVD; TOE TO TOE (premiered at Sundance), ALL OF US (Showtime World AIDS Day film), TAKE IT FROM ME (PBS’ POV series) and of course your very own copy of DADDY DON’T GO before anyone else sees it. All DVDs will be signed by the filmmakers.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

COFFEE TALK. Our stunning art book is yours to own – beautiful stills of our subjects, their adorable children and the film’s striking NYC setting. It’s so gorgeous you’re going to want to display this bad boy on your coffee table. And since you’re such a generous backer, you’ll also get the DADDY DON’T GO DVD.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,500 or more
About $1,500

SCRIPT IT. Our award-winning Writer/Director Emily Abt will read your script, give you notes and help you become the big time filmmaker you were meant to be. Please note this gift is transferable so feel free to bestow it on that dreamer nephew of yours.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $2,000 or more
About $2,000

WE’RE YOURS. Directors Emily Abt and Andrew Nam Chul Osborne would love to share with you all they’ve learned about independent filmmaking. For 1 hour, anywhere in the Big Apple, they’ll give you feedback on your project as well some hard-earned advice for moving your film forward.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $3,000 or more
About $3,000

IN THE FLESH. Directors Emily Abt and Andrew Nam Chul Osborne will discuss DADDY DON'T GO at your location of choice. Emily teaches at Princeton and Andrew is a great public speaker so we promise this will be good. Please note lodging and travel expenses are the responsibility of the person who pledges.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $5,000 or more
About $5,000

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER. Thank you! For your contribution you’ll have your name in the film’s credit roll (or if you prefer, we can keep your name private) and on IMDB. You will also get to own a copy of our beautiful art book, a DVD of the film and 2 VIP seats to the NYC premiere.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $7,500 or more
About $7,500

CO-PRODUCER. Thank you so much! We are thrilled to have you on our team. Your name will be on the film’s credit roll (or if you prefer, we can keep your name private), IMDB, and in the billing block on our posters, web site and print materials. You will also get to own our beautiful art book, a DVD of the film, 4 VIP seats to the NYC premiere and a full-size poster since your name will be on it.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $8,000 or more
About $8,000

THIS IS YOUR LIFE. Hire the award-winning Pureland team to create your own mini documentary. We’ll come by for the day and document whatever you want – the choice is yours. The footage will be edited and given to you on DVD and digital formats. If outside of the NYC area, lodging and travel expenses will be the responsibility of the person who pledges.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $10,000
About $10,000

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER. You’re not just part of the DADDY DON’T GO team, you’re keeping our project afloat. We are so sincerely grateful that your name will be on the film’s credit roll (or if you prefer, we can keep your name private), IMDB, and in the billing block on our posters, web site and print materials. We’ll also give you 2 art books, 10 DVDs of the film to share with your friends, 6 VIP seats to the NYC premiere, a full-size poster and tons of hugs from the Pureland team. You walk on water to us.